A photo shows the playground where Deng Shiping's body was found Photo: A screenshot of thepaper.cn

Authorities in Huaihua, Central China's Hunan Province said on Sunday the identity of a body found under a high-school playground is that of a member of the school's faculty in charge of supervising engineering quality.

Missing for more than 16 years, Deng Shiping's body was found by the police in Xinhuang County, Hunan, on Wednesday and was sent to the local police bureau for a post mortem and DNA testing. 

Police said that they were informed by Du Shaoping, who was caught in a nationwide crackdown on crime and gangs, and confessed in April that he has killed a man and buried him under the playground of a school many years ago.

Du was also suspected of intentional injury, illegal detention, crowd fighting and other criminal acts. 

According to Xinhua, the Commission of Discipline Inspection (CDI), the Political Committee of Legal Affairs and the Public Security Bureau of Huaihua city have set up an investigative team to dig up the related power behind Du. 

Protective umbrella of gang and crime leads to judicial injustice and corruption and severely blocks the judicial efficiency. No matter how long it takes or whoever is involved, it should be investigated in accordance with the law, a professor from People's public Security University of China who asks for anonymity, told the Global Times on Monday.

Besides the governmental efforts, supervision form public and media are also needed, he noted.

Deng's family told the police that Deng's integrity and responsibility in refusing to ignore the poor construction quality of the sports ground was the reason he was killed by Du, who was the project contractor, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Du is also the nephew of the then principal of the high school, Huang Bingsong, who was also investigated after Deng's body was found, but he claimed to have no knowledge of the murder, Xinhua reported. 

The local CDI is investigating Huang, The Beijing News reported late Monday.

After Deng's sudden disappearance in 2003, his wife and son Deng Lanbing reported it to the county's public security bureau, however, after an investigation, the case  remained unsolved. . 

Deng Lanbing posted a Weibo on Sunday only one word, "grief." He has received more than 13,600 comments and 56,700 likes from Weibo users who comforted him and are also seeking justice for the deceased. 

In response to the 16 year delay to getting justice, Deng's family said they suspected that the main obstacle in the case was the murderer's complex social network, with many relatives and friends holding positions in local government and acting as Du's "protective umbrella."
Newspaper headline: Body under playground identified as missing staff member